Orders were rushed to be carried out as the hooded killer appeared on the screen and began his speech to god knows who. Its voice sent chills down her spine as the first word growled out to the entire galaxy; for the first time since the Husk attack, Sara was truly afraid.
“It is you I seek” it began; words that would be echoed in the history books forevermore.
—
Lyarra System; Lyarran Flag Ship, Lyarra’s Fire
The second the screens around her turned on, Iana knew the end was upon her. For the past five months she had lived in total isolation as the Empire searched for a killer she knew they would never find. He was too smart for them to catch, at least they wouldn’t find him until after he had accomplished what he wanted to. What good would it do them if they did find Aen, she wondered? If he had truly embraced his power, as they all had witnessed, then Lyarra help them if they tried to stop him!
When the screens turned red and he appeared in his disguise, she fell to her knees before her throne as tears streamed down her golden cheeks. Five months of torture and loneliness had broken the once proud and powerful Empress of the Lyarran Empire down into a snivelling shell of her former self. Nothing had been the same since Aen had been born and she began to wish she heeded her protector’s warnings back then. Iana chided herself from pulling him from his icy tomb!
Sorrow gripped her like never before as she began to wonder where the strength had gone that carried her for ten thousand years. Was there anything left of the strong Mori woman who helped mold the Empire to what it was now? To be honest, she hadn’t felt quite the same since the morning she awoke to his plan to save her; the day everything around her unwound!
Iana felt weak and helpless that day; feeling as she had really never felt before that time. In her heart, she made the decision to meet her end, not as a sobbing child but as the proud Queen of Heaven. With great inner fortitude, Iana reached down deep and got off her knees and stood; wiping away the tears staining her golden skin and faced the end of her life.
“It is you I seek,” it started, and Iana closed her eyes and accepted her time had come.
—
Lyarran System; Guild World Ryas,
Temple of the Divine Light
It was happening again, and there was nothing she could do about it. Her enemy was addressing the Empire as a whole again, but the words were meant for her, and her alone. It had called her out of the shadows to face him last time, but she stayed where it could not see her. It was safer in the darkness, besides it was the one wearing a damn hood and mask!
So as it began to speak to her again, she sat in her chair frozen with fear and waited for what it would do next.
“It is you I seek, but you have shown your cowardice and kept yourself hidden. You disappoint me, as I expected so much more from you; maybe you are not the worthy opponent I thought you to be, or maybe you are just a puppet too.”
She was angry now; how dare he call her a puppet of all things!
“How safe do you feel in your broken house?” it continued. “How hard is it to call it a home now or does it feel more like your tomb? I did that; I took all your feelings of safety and comfort and burned them to the ground. You tread upon the halls of the Prophets themselves and plot dark and evil things. You have bastardized all that they made pure, and for that I shall punish you. After all, I did promise I would.”
“It was almost within your reach that day; wasn’t it? Everything you have planned for so carefully, went up in flames as quickly as your home. We both know what you chase, but you cannot get it anymore and that has to frustrate you to no end. It is sad that after today, I will know exactly when and where to find you and once we stand face to face you still won’t have a clue who I am. It all could have ended with the one visit, but you wished to hide so I will carry on.”
“To all in the Empire, today is a sad day; it is a day that marks an end of great things. There are whispers of change in the wind, and it is a change I shall give you. I deliver you a gift and a curse all in one as I take your very existence and rip it from your very clutches. Today I destroy all your peaceful dreams and turn them to nightmares. Today I take away your very symbol of hope and power. I will burn that angel upon heaven high that you so adore; today I begin the revolution!”
The image shifted to multiple camera angles of the Lyarra’s Fire from a half dozen different ships around it. Before even one gasp could escape the collective throat of all those watching, the middle section of the ship exploded in a flash so bright it was like looking into Lyarra’s light itself! In an instant, the entire section that housed the Empress’ quarters in the flagship was disintegrated as the crippled ship began to list to the left. Cameras showed the bulkhead doors slamming shut through the debris floating about in space as the ship struggled to maintain its integrity, but the true damage had been done! The Empress of Lyarra was gone; he had killed her!
As the cameras zoomed in and news feeds began to override the audio, she watched in disbelief at what had transpired. A million questions flew through her mind but it was impossible to focus; if he could get to Iana in the most secure place in the Empire and do this, what would he do to her when he found her? She was paralyzed with terror, but the sound of screams of the news feeds faded slightly; the creature wasn’t done with her just yet.
“See you soon, and when I do the best is yet to come!”
It was a parting shot that proved to be too much for her as she fainted from the stress. The last thing she would remember about this was the seriousness in his tone; even in unconsciousness the voice would haunt her to no end.
—
Sol System; Mars Hub Docking Port
It was almost too much to process; the very act itself was near inconceivable, but yet it had happened before her very eyes. Years ago Sara knew humanity had been irreparably damaged from the arrival of the Husk and the terrible destruction levied upon them afterwards. It had been a turning point in the constant evolution of mankind, and a lesson learned by the survivors of the storm.
This however, this was something entirely different. The iconic leader of the great Empire had been blown apart by a madman with a grudge against someone in the Guild and forced the entire galaxy to watch. All around her there was total silence and disbelief; though not many humans had grown attached to the Empress Iana, she had been pivotal in the resurgence Earth now enjoyed. Her loss would mean a great many things, but foremost was that the wolves would eventually be coming; there were too many riches here for those that coveted them so, to ignore for much longer.
“Has everything been locked down?” Sara asked the Sergeant at Arms beside her who looked befuddled.
Quickly, the soldier began to look for the answers to the Council’s questions. With renewed focus, the entire staff in the room began to feverishly catch up from the last few minutes they had been watching everything unfold.
“All cannons at full charge and on standby!” the Sergeant barked.
“Earth defence ring active and waiting for targets!” another shouted. “All traffic has been held in place; all transports reporting full stop!”
“Good, have all stations stay on red alert until further notified.” Sara replied as she began to walk down to her shuttle docked below. “Reroute all defense command functions to Venus Station; General Patterson is in charge now!” she shouted back to them from the stairwell.
“What the hell is going on Council?” the Sergeant called down after her.
“We just saw the first shots fired in what looks to be the start of a civil war, soldier!” she yelled back causing everyone around to take notice. “And if I was a betting woman, I would say that we are on the list of the next targets!”
—
Sol System; Lyarran Vessel Dark Light,
Neptune Orbit Range
Lyxia fell to her knees as soon as the Lyarra’s Fire exploded; her world came crashing down around her and for the second time in the last five years she watched someone close t
o her go up in a ball of fire. Her heart, body and psyche could take no more and her legs buckled beneath her; tears poured from her eyes as her heart broke audibly. The screams of agony were stuck in her throat; her mentor, her shoulder to lean on, the mother figure in her life was dead!
Everyone in the Ops Con was in shock and no longer functioning in any capacity. Some fainted, others followed Lyxia’s lead and collapsed in tears of anguish, while more than a few shrieked in horror. It was an attack of epic proportions, and one that brought the entire Empire to its knees in concert. In an act of unparalleled horror someone had struck the Lyarrans and torn their heart out!
As the screams died away and the room quietened, the news feeds of the Fleet began to become audible. There was mass confusion and a lack of organization as ships began to move around aimlessly; all looking for the attacker who may be attempting to flee. No one looked to be attempting any type of rescue effort; there was no reason to as there was nothing left of what used to be the private sanctuary of the Empire. No one would find a body; there would be no miraculous discovery of a still alive Iana.
On and on they went, all speculating on what had happened and who the assailant may be. Theories without basis began to be flung about as analysts pushed to keep their own sanity by continuing to talk for fear if they stopped, reality would come crashing down on them too. It all began to become just noise; voices blurred into static and became undistinguishable from each other. It was all too much and Lyxia finally came to her senses and turned off the audio.
“Get navigation back from the yardmaster.” She sobbed as she rose to her feet once more. “I want the ship turned around and weapons on standby. If this coward runs here, it will be us to send him to the eternal darkness, not the humans.”
It was the push they needed, and the slap in the face that made them realize there was a job at hand left to do. One by one, the Ops Con staff began to gather themselves and do their work. Within seconds, the Dark Light began to turn and park herself near the entrance to the Sol system. Little did they know that the one they were waiting for slipped out from its hiding place behind them and sped off stealthily towards Earth.
—
Sol System; Saturn Orbit Range
It was a pre-recorded message, but the actions and explosion were real time and hit harder than any punch could ever be thrown; even to those who orchestrated it. The first time they had simply declared war on the Empire by blowing up a few floors of the Temple of the Divine Light; and while that was a devastating blow it was nothing in comparison to what they just did. The two armored figures and the AI sat in silence for a long moment as the gravity of what just transpired took hold.
“You killed the Empress!” Caretaker was the first to break the agonizing silence as he chastised his oppressors.
“I did.” The man replied coldly.
“You took from existence the most precious of jewels; the loveliest and best thing the Empire offered to the worlds beneath its banner and you just stand there and proudly gloat about it! You are a monster!” Caretaker was nearly speechless.
“I’ve been called that and worse.”
The AI was at a loss, and instead of trying to process what had transpired it decided to push for answers from its captors. What it had witnessed defied logic; what reasoning was there to murder Iana? What and who was this creature after and what more was it willing to do to get it? All these questions and a million more, began to spin like a hurricane in its memory core.
“I didn’t think it would work.” The woman said; almost stammering her words.
“After all you’ve watched me do, you still doubted me on this?” the soldier rebutted to his companion.
No longer needing the disguise, he began to remove his armor, but did it slowly as he started with the shoulder plates and the chest piece, before removing his helmet. Caretaker watched intently as once the man was clearly identifiable he would throw everything it could at the programming that restrained it, then it would notify the Dark Light to their whereabouts and end this nightmare without haste. The plan was set as it began to record, but as the dark blue hair fell from beneath the rising mask, Caretaker became more confused.
The color of the hair was an identifying marker on its own; there was no other creature in history with locks that shade, even though the length was longer than the last time he was seen. Once the helmet fell to the floor, the black eyes with the blue glow sealed it; the murderer of the Empress was none other than Aen!
“While I never doubted that you still survived the disaster on Terra Sol, I never thought you would return to kill the Empress!” Caretaker began with exasperation. “Whatever did poor Iana do to you to deserve such a fate? Why after all she did for you would you repay her as such, Aen?”
Aen looked at the AI’s holographic sphere avatar and smiled; an odd response to such questions. He simply looked over at his companion as she too began to remove the armor that shrouded her piece by piece. Her movements were fluid and smooth, with a majestic nature to them.
“That is a great question construct.” Aen began; still smiling. “Why don’t you ask her?”
“Why don’t I ask…..”
The helmet hit the floor and the woman gathered her orange flame hair to tie it back behind her head and exposing her pointed, elf-like ears. Bright orange eyes smiled back at Aen; glowing brilliantly and highlighting her golden skin. She stood tall; and while she wore common Ifierin armor and not her usual silken robes, it was quite obvious that Caretaker was now looking at the second ghost it had witnessed in the last few minutes! Before it; still alive and well; stood the Queen of Heaven. Iana wasn’t killed in some horrific and evil plot; for she stood proudly and looked on at the chaos caused by her supposed demise. Caretaker was speechless.
“How does it feel to be dead?” Aen asked as he rested his hand on her shoulder for emotional support.
“Liberating.” Iana relied quietly. “For the first time in ages, I feel free.”
FIVE
Inner System Solar Power Relay Station; Project Olympus
“Civil War?” Sergeant Davis asked her long-time commander. She could hardly believe what she had just witnessed; much the same as all those aboard. Like most of them, she had not seen the first attack as the project had limited communications connected at that time. But now that the General had joined them in person, all systems had been upgraded to the extreme. If there was a war on the horizon, she knew that they were nowhere near ready yet; the behemoth hidden in the light of the sun was still two or three years from completion and until then, Earth was defended only by her cannon arrays.
“Looks like it.” Grumbled General Patterson. “That’s some class ‘A’ terrorist bullshit we just seen.”
He was right; it was eerily reminiscent of the constant attacks that plagued Earth before the arrival of the Husk. It was a marvel of how much had changed in such a short time and yet some things remained like days of old. She began to wonder what impact all this would have on them; what a war within the great Empire could bring to the weary and tired human race.
“It will take time before it all goes to shit.” Patterson spoke; seemingly knowing the mental anguish growing within his ward. “They don’t even know who is firing shots off on them; let alone know where to point the blame so for the next little bit we are safe. Get your head in the right place and concentrate on the here and now; we have a ton of work to finish.”
The General smiled at her; she hadn’t seen many smiles from him over the numerous years at his side. He was a great leader and an even better person; Davis was more than honored to serve with him once again though there were times she got flashbacks to the Starchild days. Those were memories that haunted her, and every once in a while she would find cover so the tears flowing from her eyes wouldn’t be seen by any onlookers.
“Tell me Sergeant,” Patterson continued; keeping her mind on the task at hand, “what is the status of the projects?”
“The three smaller pro
jects are nearly complete; both running on their own power as fusion reactors are online and operating at full capacity. The other two larger ones will be at least another few months before they are operational, but the crews from the first two have been rerouted to them for extra labourers.” Davis replied as she snapped back to reality.
“Good, have the first two hold position so they won’t be detected; no weapons tests while big sister is watching.” He pointed at the monitor showing the Dark Light perched at the edge of the solar system. “And dare I ask how far this one is behind?”
“We have doubled the workforce in the last month, but it is still almost two years away from completion.” She sighed. “And that doesn’t include the fact that the twin reactors won’t fire and we have no idea how to turn on the jump-space reactor. I am afraid this is nothing more than a floating space station until those problems are sorted out.”
Patterson shook his head; she could feel his frustration, though she was positive he knew the status before he asked. The report had been for her benefit, and for that she was grateful. They were stuck at a critical juncture and they had no more information to go off of to finish the main drive components of this monster; everything they had learned from reverse engineering the Lyarran craft back in the Nevada desert, had led them this far but no further. Now, they needed both time and a miracle to complete this horrific masterpiece; both of which she knew they were rather short on.
—
Sol System; Saturn Orbital Range
“I am afraid I do not understand.” Caretaker began. “There is irrefutable evidence that we just witnessed the horrific murder of the Empress Iana, yet she is here with us now.”
“You are right on both your assumptions, construct.” Aen replied coldly. “The Empress is dead and Iana is alive and well.”
“That does not compute.”
Iana giggled and shook her head; she too held a little bit of disbelief over the events that had just transpired, as it all happened so quickly. Six months ago she had been roused from her sleep by the one she knew as Aen. But he was different; almost detached and mechanical in his actions now, not the roiling ball of emotional turmoil she remembered from the battle on Terra Sol. In the dead of night, he had taken her away from her quarters and promised the safety she knew she could no longer have on her own.
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